EHRC: Non-statutory Guidance under the Equality Bill
Deadline: Monday 13th July 2009
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) are asking for responses to questions about the process and timetable for production of non-statutory Guidance under the Equality Bill. The questions are set out in the attached document. Your responses are required by Monday 13th July 2009.
EHRC understand this is a short deadline, and apologise for this, but they need to know your views on the scoping work before they can get on with the rest of the project, in particular the writing of the first drafts.
The Guidance needs to be published by July 2010, and so time is pressing. Unfortunately, that means asking you for a quick response at this stage, though there will be much longer response times later in the project. This is all set out in the attached document.
You can e-mail your response to nonstatutoryguidance@equalityhumanrights.com or telephone Clare Cozens, Equality Bill Non-Statutory Guidance Policy Manager, on 020 3117 0361 or contact the Commission via textphone 0845 604 6620. You can post responses to:
Clare Cozens
Non-Statutory Guidance
EHRC
3 More London
Riverside Tooley Street
London
SE1 2RG
If you require the document in an alternative format, or if the short deadline creates any difficulties for you, or if you have any questions, then please do contact Clare Cozens.
EHRC want to get the best Guidance possible, so wish this to be an open and collaborative process from the start, so please do respond in whichever way suits you best.
More about the project
As you will be aware, the Equality & Human Rights Commission has responsibility for producing both statutory Codes of Practice and non-statutory Guidance under the Equality Act. The purpose of the Codes and guidance is to explain to different user audiences what the law says and how to implement it.
The Commission has now appointed an experienced team to manage production of both the Codes and Guidance:
Anthony Fairbanks Weston has been appointed as Business Manager responsible for overall project management and delivery of the non-statutory Guidance and Codes of Practice to support the implementation of the Equality Act. Anthony is an independent consultant with a broad range of experience across Government and the public sector and was previously the Head of Policy and Communications for the National Policing Improvement Agency’s flagship programme, IMPACT.
Monica Kreel will be leading on production of the statutory Codes of Practice. Monica is an experienced project manager who has been working in the EHRC’s enforcement team. In this role, and in her previous work for the Disability Rights Commission, she has managed a variety of legal projects. In particular, Monica was part of the small team which produced the Codes of Practice on employment issues under the Disability Discrimination Act, working with disabled people’s organisations and employers.
Clare Cozens will be leading on production of the non-statutory Guidance. Clare is an independent consultant, with experience of the practical implementation of equality law in public, private and third sectors through writing and training. For example, Clare worked with both the CBI and TUC on “Talent not Tokenism”, a case study guide on the business benefits of workforce diversity, and with Stonewall on practical guidance for NHS managers in promoting equality for LGB staff and patients.
Ongoing involvement
I do hope that you will be able to respond to our questions. By being part of the production of this important piece of work, you will help shape the practical implementation of the new Equality Act when it comes into effect next year. However, this is not your last opportunity, as the attached paper sets out.
This document and e-mail relate to the non-statutory Guidance. Monica will shortly be gathering views on a similar scoping paper on the statutory Codes. During this project, we (Clare and Monica) will ensure that we work together as much as possible, in particular to avoid duplication when we are contacting stakeholders, but at this early stage, we believe separate scoping exercises are needed.
Thank you very much for your help with this project. I look forward to working with you all over the next few months to ensure that the Guidance makes a real difference to people’s everyday experience of equality.
Clare Cozens
Equality Bill Non-Statutory Guidance Policy Manager
clare.cozens@equalityhumanrights.com
020 3117 3061